


Darling, darling, it's all right

by thelaziesthufflepuff



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/M, Rule 63, no teenage boys were harmed in the making of this fic, only some feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:28:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27449389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelaziesthufflepuff/pseuds/thelaziesthufflepuff
Summary: In which falling in love with SNSD’s Yoona and Shinee's Taemin is a lot less painful than falling in love with Jeon Wonhee, despite Soonyoung having the same chances with both.
Relationships: Jeon Wonwoo/Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Kim Mingyu/Xu Ming Hao | The8, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Wen Jun Hui | Jun, a little bit of - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 38





	Darling, darling, it's all right

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [some variations on a theme](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16427492) by [transit (dollyeo)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dollyeo/pseuds/transit). 



> Title comes from the misheard lyrics of V6's Darling
> 
> Better late than never!

“I’m in love with Jihoonie,” Junhui declares one day after dance practice, when they are slumped on the floor exhausted. He stretches on the floor, looking every inch a young carefree child. Soonyoung chokes on his spit at his honesty. Minghao, too used to Jun spouting random things at all times, merely blinks and nods in acknowledgement, but Soonyoung can see him subtly rolling his eyes in the mirror. 

Chan, their newest beloved junior, sporting a hairstyle that makes him look like an Uchiha Sasuke cosplayer, looks at Jun in surprise. Minghao gives him a warning look, but Chan barrels on, too young to not be curious. “Hyung, who is Jihoonie?” 

“Why I’m glad you asked!” Minghao and Soonyoung both groan as Jun goes on yet another spiel about the the lovely Jihoon, who is not at all lovely in Soonyoung’s opinion but there was no accounting for taste - Jun loves to dump gochujang on everything, his taste is clearly off. He yawns, mind already drifting to the snacks he’ll buy later for the weekend -

“And Soonyoung likes her too! So we can go on double dates!” Jun declares. 

“What?” Soonyoung asks, confused, snapping out of his daydream. “Don’t you like Jihoon? Why do you want me to go on dates with Jihoon?” 

Junhui shoots him a look of exasperated patience, like Soonyoung was his beloved pet duck that hadn’t learnt how to swim despite him paying a fortune for duckling swimming lessons. Lacking in life skills, but still adored. “Of course not, I want you to go on dates with Jeon Wonhee!”

“Hyung, it’s rude and mean to inflict Soonyoung-hyung on Wonhee sunbae,” Chan says seriously. Chan is no longer Soonyoung's favourite junior. That honour now belongs to Minghao. 

“I agree, did Wonhee noona make you angry? How can someone like hyung who only started using deodorant this year be good enough for someone like her?” Minghao asks rhetorically, because he’s a little shit that’s just a tad bit upset that Soonyoung didn’t accept his choreography ideas. His sister may be onto something when she ranted about how Scorpios were vengeful beasts. Minghao is now no longer his favourite junior; the honour of that title belonged, yet again, to Chan. 

However, no matter Minghao's ranking on Soonyoung's Favourite Junior™ list, Soonyoung could barely muster any retort stronger than offended noises from his spot on the floor. Truth be told, no one knew better than him how ill-suited the both of them are. Jeon Wonhee was so out of his league, they might as well not even be playing the same sport. If they were both idol trainees, she would be a trainee in a Big 3 company with her own legion of devoted fans if she bothered to audition, and Soonyoung would probably end up in some small dingy agency that engaged in prostitution to pay the bills, wasting his youth in a sleazy bar until she stumbled in one rainy day looking for shelter from her rabid fans to see Soonyoung hard at work wiping the tables. She would blink politely and greet him, and Soonyoung’s hands will get sweaty yet again and he’ll probably trip over a table and pull her down by accident and his sweaty hands would touch her boo - 

“Love is blind, Xiaohao.” Jun replies sagely, heartlessly disrupting Soonyoung’s fantasies yet again. All his teammates suck. “With love, even your lover’s body odour will smell like roses, their farts will be as refreshing as fresh bread -” Minghao’s face scrunches in disgust and he tosses a towel at his face to shut him up. Soonyoung makes a half-hearted attempt too; smacking him with his own towel. Jun dodges them both with well-practiced ease. 

“I see,” Chan says, his face betraying his skepticism. Good for him. If he’s suspicious of Jun’s bullshit, it shows that his mind is at least sharp, and not like Soonyoung’s own, who caved to Jun’s delusional fantasies that Jeon Wonhee was secretly in love with him but was very bad at showing it. 

Stupid Junhui, for giving him false hope. Thankfully his heart came pre-crushed when it came to Jeon Wonhee. 

-

Kwon Soonyoung is nine years old when he first meets Jeon Wonhee, a quiet transfer student in his class. She stood a few seats away from him in front of the blackboard, already taller than him. She wore her uniform properly and with her hair tied into two plaits, and his classmates immediately tittered behind their hands when she introduced herself with a country accent. He remembers seeing her flush and look down at her shoes, fingers anxiously twisting the dark blue pinafore, her wide eyes quickly flitting up to meet his before darting back down, and him, in all his idiotic glory, waved a enthusiastic hello to her, only to smack his own water bottle, causing it to spill water all over the floor despite his best efforts to catch it. 

His classmates had groaned and whined about how he was making clean up duty more difficult, but Jeon Wonhee had laughed, her eyes curving into crescents, and Soonyoung caught the upturn of her mouth, the hint of neat white teeth, before she politely covered it with her hand, even as her shoulders shook with laughter. 

The edges of his world slowly blurred away, and only her figure, still alone in the front of the class, remained in sharp focus, and she looked back at him, waving a hand in return, him who was half way up from his chair, the shirt of his school uniform stained with kimchi from breakfast, him who was still swimming in a bigger uniform because that would save his parents money in the long run, and all he could think at that moment was - 

‘ _ Oh _ ’ 

Years later, his clothes fit better, but he still hasn’t gotten any better at not doing stupid things around her. The memory of their first meeting still seared in his mind, but now, there are a host of other memories competing for his attention, Jeon Wonhee, cleaning the blackboards after class. Jeon Wonhee, giving the opening speech for Sports Day, Jeon Wonhee, passing by his class on her way to her own, a book in one hand, idly tucking her own hair behind her ear with the other, revealing the soft shell of her ear, slowly reddening as murmurs behind her grew. Boys and girls alike followed her from a reverent distance, too afraid to approach her casually. Jeon Wonhee wasn’t one of the Top 3 Beauties in their school for nothing.

(Hong Jisoo and Kim Mingyu were the other two beauties, but legions of fangirls maintained that Yoon Jeonghan was prettier than all of them despite being technically male and hence should also be on that list, and honestly, no one  _ really _ wanted to argue that point, instead focusing on whether Yoon Jeonghan was actually Lucifer in disguise. He was definitely not an angel after he voluntarily sprayed water at the ladylike angel Hong Jisoo, even after she made good luck bracelets for him. Her fanboys cursed him to develop acne, but Yoon Jeonghan’s face remains clean and clear, smoother than a baby’s buttock.) 

Soonyoung would be one of those hapless fools in love with Jeon Wonhee, but he’s certain that being in love involved more… action other than just staring from a distance. He loves Yoona and Onew, and everyone knows he did more than just stare at their posters above his bed. Was he truly in love with Jeon Wonhee, if he did not do the equivalent of bulk-buying her albums, streaming her songs, brandishing her banners around the school? 

It cannot be love, but he doesn’t have any other words to explain how Jeon Wonhee manages to purify the air around her while simultaneously causing him to have an asthma attack when she’s in his general vicinity. 

Maybe it’s not love. Maybe he’s just allergic. Maybe… he’s allergic to  _ her _ . 

-

“It’s alright, Jihoonie will figure it out. She always does, I’ll just need to give her time, and maybe more coke. Don’t worry - Jihoon will be happy with me!” Jun announces confidently as they walk home together, talking about his crush like no high schooler ever talked about a crush, like it was something as inevitable as water flowing downstream or cut apples browning in open air. Was it because he played enough otome games to know which was always the right option when it comes to wooing a love interest?

"Oh I'm not worried about her," Soonyoung says dryly, ignoring the envy curling in his stomach. "She'll eat you alive." Jun laughs like he made an especially good joke. Soonyoung doesn't want to be the one to burst his bubble regarding Jun's love life; Junhui has the looks, the money,  and has the bonus of actually being funny to boot. No one can resist the one-plus-one effect of Moon Junhui’s face and good nature. Not even Jihoon (who was in Soonyoung’s opinion, an angry kitten that took human form) could resist Junhui’s charm. 

(If Junhui had auditioned, he would have definitely passed. That thought stings a little lesser the more he learns about Junhui, but it’s still present, like a healing bruise. The only good thing is knowing that Junhui doesn’t like Jeon Wonhee the way Soonyoung does, with sweaty palms and a racing heart, senses alert the moment her silhouette all but drifts into the corner of his eyes, too cowardly to turn his head for a better look, because what if she was disgusted by his attention? How dare he cast his eyes in her direction, the foolish boy who stomped in puddles while walking her home, wetting her shoes and socks, the idiot that spoke with his mouth full of food and nearly spitting it out at her, the dumbass that accidentally sneezed in her direction just when he didn’t wear a mask? 

If Wen Junhui likes Jeon Wonhee, Soonyoung might as well be air.)

-

One day he’ll find the courage to even stand. Next to her. On purpose, and not because they were forced together on a crowded bus. Jun with his height, had seen the way they had been pressed together and shot him a thumbs up, before purposely, shamelessly, uncaring of the dirty glances from disgruntled commuters as he stepped over their feet to squeeze next to Jihoon a few seats away. Jihoon who initially had no clue, but Jun ‘discreetly’ pointed them out, and she raised an eyebrow, lips curling in amusement. Soonyoung would have flipped her off but he had one hand on the handrail and the other accidentally curled around the curve of Jeon Wonhee's waist, her body heat warming his hands, for a few blissful, terrifying, memorable seconds as Jeon Wonhee turned to glare at him, her face mere inches away from his, the delicate moue of her lips a sharp contrast with the steel in her eyes.

It’s sad, that that’s the memory that brings him over the edge when his hormones make themselves known at night. He wasn’t even touching her bare skin. 

-

“You can’t be allergic to a person,” Minghao argues in his patented exasperated voice as Soonyoung crashes his lunch date with Kim Mingyu.  _ It was not a date _ , Minghao claimed the day before as they all clamoured for details. Minghao is a certified liar. Soonyoung doesn’t have much experience with relationships, but he’s sure eating Kim Mingyu’s homemade lunch box with kimchi arranged in the shape of a heart on white rice while Kim Mingyu sits across him giving him heart eyes certainly qualifies as a date. If he wasn’t sure before, the death glare Kim Mingyu shot him when he helped himself to one of the kimbap rolls would have sealed it. Minghao is already taller than him; one less roll wouldn’t hurt. Come to think of it, did Minghao grow taller because he ate Mingyu’s lunch boxes daily? If only Wonhee would make his favourites - 

“Yeah oppa, don’t think stupid things,” Mingyu says. Soonyoung flinches, she has no idea how hard her clumsy words hit. “Unnie doesn’t even wear perfume for you to be allergic too.” 

“She doesn’t?” He asks, confused. “But she always smells so nice?”

“Since when were you close enough to know how she smells?” Minghao points out heartlessly, eating another kimbap roll before Soonyoung can grab it. He then casually drops another piece into Mingyu’s plate without even looking, and Mingyu nearly knocks over her soup in happiness at the blatant expression of affection. 

Soonyoung gives Minghao an expectant look, waiting for Minghao to give him food. Minghao continues to eat, ignoring him and instead helping Mingyu mix sauces. Love really changes a man. It was only two years ago that Minghao arrived as a shy exchange student who could barely string a few coherent sentences in Korean, and look at him now - happily living in domestic bliss with Kim Mingyu. Xu Minghao, this vengeful sarcastic demon of a junior, has a stunning, model-esque girlfriend that cooks meals for him on a near daily basis. 

Soonyoung goes for the steamed chicken, only to be thwarted by a protective smack of Mingyu’s chopsticks. There is no justice in this world. 

At least he still gets rice refills. But only after half an hour, when Minghao is stuffed full and Mingyu is tired of him drooling all over the table.

“Wonhee unnie would be upset if I starved you,” Mingyu mentions casually, scooping the leftover rice into his bowl. He chokes and knocks over a side dish of kimchi. Minghao looks at him with parental disappointment, sighing at the wastage and mess, but Soonyoung is only focused on Mingyu’s words. 

“She would? What? Why? How?” Soonyoung sputters, but Mingyu clams up immediately, not meeting his eyes, choosing instead to wipe the table clean with tissue. Minghao takes the tissue from her, their fingers brushing, flustering Mingyu further. Minghao acts cool, but Soonyoung can see his elf ears turning red as they both still. keep. on. staring. at. each. other. 

“Hello? I’m still here? What were you saying about Wonhee?” Soonyoung nearly shrieks, waving a hand between their faces. “Answer my question Mingyu-ah!” 

“Ah?” Mingyu manages to tear her eyes away from Minghao to blink at him. “Did I say anything about Wonhee? I don’t remember.”

“I do!” Soonyoung protests. “You definitely said something!” 

“Don’t yell at Mingyu.” Minghao scolds, before adding a belated ‘hyung’ at the end. Mingyu turns back to stare at Minghao with so much affection Soonyoung wants to barf. 

“Aish… why do I even bother. Just my luck to be stuck as a third wheel.” He sulks petulantly, crossing his arms. “Seeing that Jeon Wonhee is never going to notice me, I’ll die alone and lonely and haunt your marital home by the sea in future. You’ll never be able to kiss without me commenting on your technique ever.” 

“We’ll get an exorcist.” Minghao returns heartlessly. Meanwhile Mingyu seems overcome with the thought of possibly marrying Minghao in the future, face redder than the kimchi he spilled. 

“Right. We will. And you can only hope to be reincarnated into a hamster. Wonhee unnie loves those.”

“She does?” Soonyoung asks, puzzled. Jeon Wonhee certainly didn’t look like she liked hamsters, if the disgusted way she looked at him when he stuffed food in his face during lunch was any indication. 

“Yeah, I think that’s why she likes you.” Mingyu blurts out, before covering her mouth, horrified at her lapse. “Crap… now Wonhee unnie is going to skin me alive…” 

“Don’t get a big head about it.” Minghao adds to Soonyoung as he pats Mingyu’s shoulder. “Most people make bad decisions in high school.” 

_ Like Mingyu dating you.  _ Soonyoung would have replied snidely, but the bulk of his brain focuses on Mingyu’s words, and his world has suddenly been plunged into HD, like a Shinee MV that got uploaded in 1440p. 

Everything is bright and the future is limitless.

“Oppa? Can you stop smiling? You’re scaring me.” Mingyu confesses, edging slowly away from the look of deranged happiness on his face. 

“Do that again and I’ll sic Jeonghan sunbae on you,” Minghao threatens, holding Mingyu’s hand to lead her away. “Stop interrupting our lunch dates. Go eat with Wonhee noona instead.”

=

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment or kudos if liked!


End file.
